Recycle, Freecycle; Upcycle, Downcycle

Sounds like a “Berenstain Bears” book title to me…

What do these terms mean & WHY should you care???

With the growing “Green” movement, the current state of the economy and for the overall good of our planet, people are moving more and more towards using natural items and what many people consider “trash” as crafting components.

“Repurposed rubbage” is becoming the new vogue way to create.

It’s become as common as an insignificant rock paperweight to artwork shown in the finest modern art galleries in the world.

As you all know, I am “all thumbs” when it comes to creating physical pieces of art; my heart is certainly there, but the actual execution usually ends in a minor disaster with someone inevitably getting hurt (me!).

Yet I am STILL uncontrollably drawn to crafting and Etsy and the “big box” craft stores.

It’s a sad but true fact that I spend most of my, ahem, “disposable” income on crafting supplies and books.

But it’s okay because my hubby lets me “buy all the craft supplies that I can hide!”

Okay, back to the topic on hand…

The more and more time that I spend researching different crafting-type niches on eBay and Etsy, the MORE convinced I am that this REALLY is a viable, sustainable niche to enter AND embrace.  It’s good for the environment, it’s good for your pocketbook and thus it’s good for YOU (and me!)

So, let’s take a look at all those pesky terms that are being bandied about these days and figure out what they really mean.

Recycle:

This has become a catch all term that could mean any of the following…

• Taking something that has served its original purpose (say, a tin can) and creating ANOTHER tin can from it.
• Using the tin can as-is (a pencil cup, seed starter or poking a hole in two & tying a string between).
• Cutting it up, melting it down or hammering it flat -
  something now entirely new & completely different.

This term is generally associated with TRASH, hence NOT a good way to describe your final objet d’art.

One way YOU can cash in on the recycling effort though, is by SELLING your empty ink jet print cartridges.  You can sell the EMPTY cartridges for about $5.00 a pop, more than what some of the big box office supplies chains offer.  Make sure when researching and selling to use terms such as OEM (original manufacturer equipment, not a knock-off supermarket brand), the BRAND name & part number and VIRGIN (meaning that you have NOT refilled these cartridges yourself.)  Those buying these lots ARE refilling the cartridges and reselling the now FULL ones at a discount to the brand new ones.

Freecycle:

This is an opt in discussion list/forum that is set up geographically.  Freecycle is alive, well and kicking in BOTH the US and in many, many other locations wordwide.  If you are interested, go to http://freecycle.org to check it out!

Freecycle’s main purpose is to keep items out of the landfills, extending its useful life by pairing it with a new owner that will adopt it, love it and care for it!

Seriously though, the way it works is that if a person has something or a whole lot of somethings that is cluttering up their house, they post it as an “OFFER.”

People on the list then respond requesting the item or items and an approximate time they can “pick up” or retrieve their item from the “offerer”.  Once the item is claimed, the “offerer” posts that it is “TAKEN.”

On the flip side, a person can also post a “WANTED” and people can then respond if they have one they are willing to GIVE to the person.  Once the person receives the item, they then post a “FOUND.”

The operative term here is “FREE.”

This is a GREAT way to get books, old games, stuffed animals, clothing, etc.

I personally have received an over-sized washing machine, a BRAND NEW King sized mattress, Wilton cake pans, books, dishes, flatware, knick-knacks, old watches and various other household items.

It is also a wonderful way to destash if you are simply overwhelmed with it all!

Upcycle: 

Also known as “repurposing“, is the act of taking an object then changing it in such a way that it now has a NEW useful purpose.

Generally speaking when you “repurpose” an item, like the planter/drum in the photo, you do not change the item drastically, you just change its intended function.

This would be the case for game pieces, dice, sea glass, feathers and the like.  As I discussed in my post “Making Money with Prints, Bits & Pieces” crafters are using these items in BULK to create new items… either finished masterpieces or kits for others to create masterpieces from.

“Upcycling” is when you actually do something to CHANGE the item and THEN use it.

One of the more intriguing ideas I have run across is selling old, ratty wool, cashmere and angora sweaters.

By washing the sweaters in HOT water with a mild, scent-free detergent and then drying them on the HOTTEST setting possible, many of these sweaters naturally “felt” (change texture) and thus won’t unravel when you cut them up.

I found a successful Etsy seller selling strips of these sweaters in a coordinating pallette (10 strips) which measure 10″-12″ long and 6″ to 7″ wide.  She is successfully selling these bundles for $15-$16 a pop…

Think you can make a profit off of this idea???  You bet!

I’m guessing you can get at least 4 to 6 strips from each sweater.  She clears about $1.50 per sweater per lot; so for SIX lots she earns $90.00 or so.  To make money you need to source the sweaters under $9 each (IF my math is right) …no promises!

Based on where you go, I think it’s VERY “do-able”!  Just go to a thrift store or yard sale and start checking the sweater racks…

You can check out a “live” listing by clicking HERE.

I have also seen people using old wine corks (you can sell these in “lots”), found animal bones and driftwood; which are sold “as-is” or cut up, drilled or polished…

The amount of work YOU put into it directly impacts how much money you get out of it… but of course that is how the rest of the world works too!  No surprises here either!

Downcycle:

The act of taking an item and creating something that is lower in value, quality or functionality.  This may or may NOT mean lower in “resale” value.

It is my opinion that “pieces make profits” and downcycling is a highly profitable practice for the eBay/Etsy seller.

By selling pages from an old book along with various other parts, or watches by the part, rather than whole, each individual piece is technically downcycled, as the remaining parts are NOT functional on their own.

Once a crafter/artisan takes these bits and creates (upcycles) a piece of jewelry or other custom art or functional piece, the individual downcycled pieces immediately increase in value…

Funny how this all works together, isn’t it?

Another BRAND NEW niche I found by just writing this blog post is the “downcycling” of computer hard drives… you can sell the actual discs themselves (to be made into clock faces) AND for the real doozie, the “rare earth” or Neodymium magnet in hard drives used to read & write the data.

These magnets are 3x stronger than the average ferrous type magnet and can hold over 10 sheets of paper to a refrigerator door! That’s a TON of “fridge art”!

When harvested from hard drives they are sold by the pound and a 20 pound lot typically sells in the $100 range!

Okay, now that you know what these terms mean,
HOW do you actually capitalize on them?

Well, research… then research some more, and keep on researching!  I research in many different ways.  I keep an eye on the pulse of what’s happening around me.  I research completed listings on eBay.  I look through Etsy and see what types of things are being created, sold and featured – I receive a daily email with Etsy featured items.

I also have ANOTHER “secret weapon” in my research arsenal.  I have started buying the “1000 photo” type books from Amazon.  You may or may not be familiar with this type of book, but in a nutshell, they feature the work of hundreds of artisans practicing in 10-12 different genres (paper, functional items, clothing, artwork, etc., etc.) and displays a GREAT picture of that item.  In the back is an index of resources for you to further investigate.

These pictures are simply gorgeous, inspiring and REALLY get my creative juices flowing… but they do NOT inspire me to go out and make these things (I can’t!) .

I look at the pieces that these wonderful items include.  By studying what is commonly used across that particular niche, I can then go on to research whether or not these SUPPLIES are selling well on eBay, Amazon and/or Etsy.  If they are, and they are easy to source, well, then viola! a brand new niche to sell in is born.

I just ordered another book last night, featuring 1000 ideas for creative reuse.  This is yet another compendium of photos of what these clever artisans are creating!

I am literally chomping at the bit to get my hands on it!  Besides getting to look at the pretty pictures and be awe-inspired by the talent that exists in this world… there is a WHOLE bunch of new components that I can begin researching and noodling around in my head!

Once I start identifying the types of trash, er, I mean “crafting components” that are selling well, I will, of course share them with you too!

From this “dumpster diving diva”… ENJOY!!!

Best ~Deb